


Revenge

by prodigalson



Category: Homestuck
Genre: AU, M/M, Violence, some sburb stuff but not sure how deep i want to get into that
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-16
Updated: 2014-12-22
Packaged: 2018-03-01 17:40:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2781821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prodigalson/pseuds/prodigalson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU with hints at sburb; warnings for violence and probably sex eventually; johnxdave, dirkxjake (hinted at), johnxdirk, davexjake</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Church

**Author's Note:**

> John Egbert and Jake English were half-brothers, related through their mother. Jake lived with their mother whose name he retained while John lived with his father. When Jake was 16 their mother passed away from a sudden illness and as his father’s whereabouts were unknown, Jake went to live with John and his father. While in high school he met and dated Dirk Strider, who was in the same class as Jake, but a few years after they graduated they broke up suddenly for unknown reasons. After that, Jake went “adventuring” as he called it and rarely paid visits home.
> 
> Dave, Dirk and their older brother, Bro, made up the Strider family. The eldest had built a small fortune at an early age and left a good deal of money to his two younger brothers before he left. Dirk graduated a year early and subsequently finished college two years early with a degree in something having to do with bioengineering, physics and robotics. At any rate he invented various things, most of which never left his lab located in the basement of their house. Dirk did manage to make some money of it here and there and was able to keep himself and Dave in their 4 bedroom home quite comfortably. After his sudden break-up with long-time beau, Jake English, he became reclusive and anti-social.
> 
> Dave and John have known each other their entire lives, they met long before Jake ever moved in. Sometime during high school things changed between them and their friendship altered into something else. Dave was a lot more open about his feelings for John, who preferred to keep it private. He told Dave that it could cause trouble for them if people knew but Dave never really cared what anyone else thought.
> 
> As for the universe, some base elements from sburb are used but I assure you its mostly misadventure and lechery and im sorry to dave in advance…

He was running as fast as he could, the forest now protected him from the rain but his hair still stuck to his face in wet, curly black clumps. He couldn’t even feel his feet anymore which led him to trip several times as he tried to catch up to the hollering he heard up ahead of him. The pounding of his heart reverberated in his ears, making it harder to follow the raucous celebrating of the group but he never stopped running; he kept pushing on through the pain, the worry, the confusion, everything. He didn’t even know what he could do once he got there but he knew he had to make it; Dave couldn’t go through this alone no matter what.

Finally ahead he saw the trees thinning to break into an opening, he could see the orange glow of a fire shining through them and casting strange shadows on the forest floor. Time seemed to slow to almost a stop as his feet pounded past the few remaining trees. He managed to trip on an upturned root just as he broke through the treeline which sent him face first onto the ground. When he looked up, his breath caught in his chest.

Two guys were holding Dave, a third was building the fire and a fourth was standing in front of Dave holding his head up by a fistful of blonde hair and seething something at him from between clenched teeth. John listened carefully, trying to decipher what he was saying. Tears welled in John’s eyes as the realization hit him, the guy was reciting bible verses. Then out of nowhere, the man holding the blonde by the hair hit him; a blow to the gut from his free hand. Dave doubled over and the beating began. John sat watching in shock as Dave was punched repeatedly in the face, he lost consciousness after the first couple hits so the guys holding his arms were now also holding him up. The guy who had been hitting him grabbed him by the shirt and threw him on the ground, then the lot of them began kicking him. John’s jaw dropped in disbelief as unfelt tears streamed down his face, he was sure Dave was dead or would be soon and he couldn’t even move.

Then out of nowhere someone flew over his head. Whoever it was, was going way faster than any normal person ought to be going but John recognized who it was as he launched himself feet first into the melee. It was Dirk. If anyone could save Dave, it was Dirk or at least that’s what John believed. And he did. He had all three of the main assailants knocked out cold on the ground by the time John cleared the tears from his eyes. He could see clearly in time for Dirk to uppercut the remaining guy straight backwards to the flat of his back; he did not stand back up from it either.

Before John knew it they were walking back through the forest. He and Dirk were on either side of Dave, half carrying, half dragging him out of there. Neither of them talked, the only sound was of their heavy breathing from the effort and a discomforting wheezing sound coming from Dave though his head was bent so John could not tell how bad he was or even whether he were conscious or not.  
After an eternity they made it to Dirk’s car where they lay Dave in the back seat. John sat in the front in stunned silence as Dirk navigated back to his and Dave’s place. Halfway there Dave stirred and let out a sound that could only be described as pure pain. John spun around immediately and put his hand on Dave’s face, trying to comfort him but those peculiar red eyes, though open, were a million miles away under layers and layers of agony. Then they rolled backwards into his skull as he lost consciousness again. Dirk’s frown deepened and he began driving notably faster.

Dave came in and out of consciousness several more times before they made it home. John helped Dirk get him inside and for once he was allowed to follow Dirk down to the basement where his supposed lab was. There was another room he hadn’t been aware existed, the inside was set up just like a hospital room of all things.  
“I suppose you’re wondering what we’re doing with a room like this?” Dirk murmured under his breath as they got Dave onto the bed.  
“Us Strider boys get ourselves into a lot of trouble, runs in the family. We’d be poor if we went to the hospital every time we needed to. Me and Bro both studied in the medical field to save money”  
John blinked and stared at Dirk. That was probably the most he’d ever said to him before and he wasn’t really sure how to respond. But before he could even decide on anything Dirk was pushing him out of the room.  
“b-but don’t you need my help or something?”  
“No John go wait upstairs you don’t want to be here for this anyway”  
John couldn’t see his eyes behind his pointy shades but he was pretty sure he had his serious face on and he knew from the past not to argue with Dirk Strider when he had his serious face on. 

Dirk shut the door behind John and he made his way upstairs. He heard occasional noises from downstairs but everything was so muffled only the hollers of pain were obviously distinguishable. John paced around the living room for a while but even that didn’t satiate his restlessness. He wanted to go downstairs and burst in the room but he wasn’t sure about the wrath of Dirk Strider, which was enough to keep him away from the stairs just the same.

An hour passed. John thought for sure he would lose his mind any second then Dirk was there standing beside him. He didn’t even hear him enter the room and subsequently jumped a little upon realization. He looked over at him and his face was downcast. There was blood on his hands and shirt. He didn’t say a word, he just sat down next to John on the couch and looked down at his hands. They sat in silence for a long while, one afraid to ask and the other too worn out to speak.

Eventually and quite unexpectedly, Dirk did something John never even considered as something he would ever do; the blonde leaned in ever so slightly and let his head fall onto John’s shoulder. A shiver ran up the younger boys spine which made him sit straight upright, frozen. Dirk’s breathing calmed as he rested there.  
“Dave’s going to be ok,” he said, towards the floor and barely above a whisper.  
John was snapped out of his frozen state and managed a sigh of relief despite the older boy still leaning on him. He could feel Dirk’s warm breath on his arm and his stomach did something weird that he wished it had not. They sat like that in silence for several more minutes before Dirk, just as unexpectedly, rose and started walking towards the kitchen.  
“I’ll make us some coffee,” he said over his shoulder as he disappeared into the kitchen.  
John stared after him well after he had disappeared. Whatever was trying to creep into the back of his mind he promptly stuffed back down and turned his thoughts towards Dave and when he would be able to see him. For now he would wait for Dirk and the coffee and feel him out about it from there. 

He still was not entirely sure what Dave’s older brother was all about and how he should behave towards him, having rarely seen or spoken to him until today. He hardly seemed like the type, so far, that would have attracted his rambunctious older brother but he supposed looks could be deceiving. He was obviously strong just like Jake but aside from that they seemed complete opposites. Dave always said Dirk had changed after he broke up with Jake but he never really had reason to think about it before. For a moment, he found himself feeling sorry for Dirk for some unknown reason.

John shook his head and cleared his thoughts, turning his attention back to Dave. He couldn’t believe how little help he had been earlier. If Dirk hadn’t shown up Dave would probably be dead. How had it come to this anyway. The more he thought about it the more miserable he became, until he looked positively wretched by the time Dirk returned and handed him a cup of strong black coffee. Dirk frowned when he looked at him then sat back down beside him.  
“Alright,” Dirk said, “looks like we need to talk, kid.”


	2. John Does the Windy Thing

“I couldn’t do anything to help him… I was completely useless”  
Dirk frowned. He knew John wasn’t useless, in fact he was quite the opposite, but he didn’t think now was the right time to throw that into the mix. Although the poor kid looked on the verge of tears, he had to say something,  
“I could teach you… to fight I mean”  
He seemed unsure of what he was saying but the look on John’s face changed somehow from despair to something else like hope or determination. Dirk cleared his throat, feeling a bit uneasy.  
“I want to learn,” John finally said after several moments of silence.  
“Good. We start in ten minutes, meet me on the roof.” With that Dirk set his coffee cup down on the coffee table in front of them and started out of the room, leaving a confused John gapping after him.

When he got to the roof he sat and waited. Eight minutes later a disheveled looking John burst through the door leading onto an arena of sorts built onto a flattop roof. Something else the aloof teen had neglected to notice was there before now. He started towards Dirk,  
“How is Dave? When can I see him?”  
Dirk frowned.  
“We aren’t here to talk about Dave, we’re here to spar. Please stop worrying about Dave right now and be on your guard.”  
He could see the frustration visible on Johns face as his features fell,  
“But I-“  
He never got to finish his sentence. Dirk was on him before he made it any further. John yelped and leapt backwards as Dirk attempted a roundhouse kick to the dark haired boy’s dome piece. They continued like this for most of the afternoon. Dirk attacking, John feebly avoiding. He could tell Dirk was going easy on him, it felt like he was toying with him but then that's probably because Dirk kind of was. Something about this blue-eyed boy had struck him. He could sense he was different, like himself and Dave. Like Jake. He just didn’t know how yet. He intended to find out.

The first day John was terrible. He barely managed to avoid most of Dirks attacks and he hadn’t even had a chance to try to land any of his own. He was sweaty and tired by the time they finished, Dirk looked unfazed.   
“You can stay here tonight if you like. I’m about to move Dave to his room so you can stay in there with him if you want”  
Dirk didn’t look at John as he spoke to him, he wasn’t really in the habit of looking at people when he spoke to them John was realizing.  
“Thanks, I’d like that” was his reply. 

He stayed several days, in fact, only returning home to get clean clothes and shower. Dirk continued “training” him for a few hours everyday although it didn’t feel much like training to John. However, after the first week Dirk did notice John was already improving. He was lighter on his feet and didn’t struggle to avoid his attacks so noticeably. He wondered why Jake never bothered to spar with him but the two were never really that close, not like him and Dave.

By the second week John began testing the waters on counterattacking. His strikes were weak and lacked foundation at first but now Dirk would pause mid-strife to give John pointers on stance and form.  
“If you’re going to use that move, do it like this” he would say, then move Johns body through the proper motions.  
“Now you try” and John would always mimic the move perfectly. 

One time Dirk caught John off guard again like the day he had leaned his head on John’s shoulder. They had been at it in the heat of the afternoon and both were glistening with sweat, Dirk had thrown his shirt off not long after they started. He had just landed a sweeping kick that fell John to the flat of his back when he reached out to help him up. John grabbed his hand and Dirk pulled him to his feet like he weighed nothing but still grabbing Johns hand he pulled him a bit closer and grabbed his jaw with his free hand, moving his face to have a better look into his eyes.  
“I bet you can get Dave to do anything you want with those eyes” he said offhandedly, like it was a perfectly normal thing to say to somebody. John felt his face heating up and he pulled away from Dirk and went back into a fighting position, visibly flustered. Dirk smirked and launched at him, getting a clean hit in that sent John reeling back to the ground. 

Dirk turned to fetch his shirt when John sprang at him. He was sure the boy was done and was almost caught off-guard by the attack. The thought thrilled him in a way because it meant he was improving in such a short amount of time. It shot adrenaline into his veins and the fight was renewed. He went after John with his usual attacks but as he easily avoided each of them, springing lightly on his feet as if the wind were moving him, Dirk changed his attack. John clearly didn’t see it coming because the first jab he threw clocked him right in the jaw and sent him sideways to meet he ground with his face. There was a distinct cracking sound of his skull bouncing off the floor and Dirk cringed, fearing he had gone a bit too hard this time. As he moved towards the black haired boy his eyes flew open but now shone a strange blue, as if light emitted from them. John sprang from the floor and flew at Dirk with speeds he never displayed before. He turned Dirk onto the defense in a matter of moments, each fist that struck felt heavier than it should like the wind around them was adding its force. John was completely changed. His style, his demeanor, his attacks, all the likes Dirk had never seen before. He was doing everything in his power just to keep from getting his ass beat by this kid. Finally he saw his opportunity and sent an uppercut straight towards the teen. Right before it hit he saw the light leave John’s eyes and a look of bewilderment take its place. The air around them settled then bringing Dirk to notice it had been amiss in the first place. It was too late though; his fist made contact and sent the now altered John flying backwards, knocked out clean.  
“Shit”  
Dirk cradled the black haired boy in his arms as he carried him downstairs, he was much smaller than an 18 year old ought to be, he still looked 15 in Dirk’s opinion. That could get a few people in trouble he mused to himself as he looked down at his still face. He noticed he was staring a bit longer than he probably should have been considering who he was and returned his attention to where he was going. He set John down on the couch and went to grab an ice pack from the freezer. When he got back John was blinking a bit lazily, one eye closing slower than the other. He almost laughed but now probably wasn’t the right time. He handed John the ice pack,  
“Sorry”  
John awkwardly grabbed it from him and put it to his face  
“it’s ok, I… what happen..ed” He seemed to stutter through the words as if his head was still trying to sort itself out.  
“You mean you don’t remember?” Dirk asked.  
“Remember what?” John looked over at him, obviously confused.  
“Well I guess it’s a good thing you’re sitting down,” Dirk said,” This is probably going to be a lot to take in. I’ve suspected for a long time that you were like Dave and I. Well and your brother to be honest. We are what we call ‘heroes’. We haven’t figured out our purpose yet but each of us has an aspect and a class and its been a damn nightmare sorting it all out. From what I can tell you’re the hero of breath which is how you were controlling the wind out there which I realize you don’t remember right now but it’ll come easier with time. Dave is the hero of time and we haven’t really settled all he can do yet but I think he’s really important somehow.” He paused here because John was staring at him slack-jaw as if he didn’t know if this was real or not. Dirk reached forward and moved some of Johns hair from his eyes, he flinched ever so slightly at his touch.  
“We can talk about it later,” Dirk said finally and he leaned back onto the couch.  
“Sorry again though, I didn’t mean to hit you so hard.”

Just then Dave appeared in the room and Dirk shot straight to his feet. John sat up straight and his mood was instantly changed.  
“You’re up!” he said, obviously trying to contain his excitement. Dirk looked between the two before deciding it was his cue to leave. He put a hand on Dave’s shoulder as he left the room, words being unnecessary between the brothers. He glanced over his shoulder in time to see Dave falling into Johns lap before he headed down the stairs to his lab where he often disappeared to for long periods of time. It was probably time to stay away for awhile again, he was having peculiar feelings about his brother’s friend and he thought it to be for the best to put some space between himself and those dangerous blue eyes for awhile.


	3. TG Leaves on a Quest of Time

John buried a hand in soft blonde hair as Dave nuzzled into his lap.  
“I’m pretty much completely healed now,” he mumbled into John’s lap.  
“Good it’s been forever since I saw you it feels like and-“ he cut himself off for a moment as if contemplating telling Dave. Honesty seemed like the best policy in the end so he finished his sentence,  
“-and I’ve been training with your brother. So that I can protect you from now on”  
Dave looked up at him sideways, his red eyes unreadable as always. He turned his face back downwards,  
“I know”  
Dirk must have told him, John figured.  
“There’s something else… I did something weird I guess… and your brother said, um, something about heroes…”  
Dave mumbled “I know” again and wrapped his arms around John as best he could from a laying position. This time he turned his head before he spoke,  
“Actually I have something to tell you that has to do with that.” He paused a moment and glanced up at John again who was staring back at him curiously,  
“I’m leaving soon to go on, well a quest I guess is the best word for it. There’s a sword of time I have to find and … well you can’t come with me,” he never broke eye contact with John while he said it and he watched the anger spread across his face.  
“Like hell I can’t go with you are you serious? You almost died a few weeks ago and now you expect me to let you leave just like that?? And on a quest? I’m sorry but it sounds like you’re going to need some help wi-“  
“No John.” His voice was stern and his face took on a bit of the look Dirk made when he meant to not be argued with.  
“You don’t understand, I have to go alone. And eventually you will have a task that you have to do alone too, do you understand?”

John frowned. How was he supposed to accept this after watching him get beat like that then taking measures to ensure it wouldn’t happen again… now being expected to just let him leave into unknown danger without even being able to argue his case. He was furious and hurt.  
“Dave please,” the pleading in his voice said more than his actual words could. Dave frowned and held him tighter.  
“John you know I would take you with me if I could, please don’t make me feel bad.”  
Dave had won the fight with that, John couldn’t make him feel bad and Dave knew it.

John stayed the night again that night. He was wrapped up tight in Dave’s arms but he couldn’t sleep. Long after the blonde’s breathing became light and rhythmic with sleep, John was still rehashing their conversation and coming to terms with what it meant. Really it was silly of him to think he could protect Dave yet. He had been training with his brother’s since he could walk. Dirk had only been training John for a few weeks. Whatever power he seemed to have would certainly help but so far he had only used said powers once and that was on accident. He decided he was just going to have to trust Dave. Besides if Dirk was ok sending him on this ‘quest’ then it must not be too dangerous. Dirk was more protective of Dave than anybody else even if John didn’t like admitting it to himself. Hell, he even managed to find Dave in that forest without even being told those guys had taken him.

He must have fallen asleep eventually without realizing it because he was awoken in the morning by Dave kissing his face softly.  
“Good morning,” he said, dark shades already glued to his face. John pulled them off anyway so he could stare into those unsettling red eyes for a moment before kissing him on the mouth, tangling a hand gently in that blonde hair he had become so fond of. Dave allowed it, he used to fuss when John took his shades off but now he didn’t really seem bothered by it anymore. He rolled their bodies slightly so John was on his back and Dave was leaning on his elbows over the dark-haired boy. Dave kissed him again, pressing his weight against the other for a moment and playfully biting his lip. John cracked a smile despite himself and threw his arms around Dave’s neck. Dave was sliding a warm hand up John’s shirt when Dirk knocked twice on the door, causing both of them to shoot their gaze guiltily towards the door like they were kids again.

“Made breakfast if yer hungry” came Dirk’s low muffled voice behind the door. It always amused John when he caught hints of their southern accents. Dave all but dropped his unless he was angry; Dave was very rarely angry. John had only seen him lose his temper once in their entire lives. Dirk on the other hand, his accent appeared to come out when he was tired but with his personality being so calm and his pointy shades always covering his eyes, it was anybody’s guess when he was tired or not.

The boys both suppressed laughter at their childish feelings of being caught doing something they shouldn’t have. Dave fell beside him on the bed and surrendered himself to a full body stretch that emitted several pops from his back before he flopped an arm back over John’s chest.   
“You hungry?” the blonde asked.  
“I could eat,” John replied, feeling around on the nightstand for his glasses, which he slid onto his face before swinging his feet over the edge of the bed. Dave inched up behind him and wrapped his arms around him from behind, burying his face in the black curls by John’s ear.  
“I’m leaving today,” he said quietly, just above a whisper. John frowned as his brow furrowed. He knew he couldn’t say anything to change his mind and he didn’t want to start a fight so he dejectedly conceited defeat.  
“Ok.”

They had finished breakfast and lounged around letting their food digest for awhile before Dave stood with a purpose and John knew it was time. He followed Dave around a bit like a lost puppy as he finished packing a bag which had been sitting at his desk; apparently he had been preparing for a few days now without letting John know. He was silent as he crammed clothes and various other things into his bag. John, on the other hand, had a million things he wanted to say yelling in his head but he begrudgingly kept his mouth closed. At this point he knew if he opened his mouth to speak at all it would all tumble out and cause problems so he said nothing at all. All the way out of the house and down to the street he kept his mouth shut but as soon as Dave wrapped his arms around him, pulling him tight in a way which meant he wouldn’t be seeing him for awhile, John couldn’t take it anymore. He clamped his jaw shut but his words fell from his eyes in the form of tears. Dave frowned and wiped them from his face, then leaned in and kissed him softly on the lips. He leaned his forehead against John’s forehead as tears continued to stream down his face.  
“Hey none of that,” he said lightly, trying to be comforting, “I’ll be back before you know it, and all in one piece I promise.” John managed to nod a response but now he was beyond the point of being able to form words. It took everything he had to not completely break down. Dave kissed him again, working his tongue past the dark-haired boys momentarily useless lips and kissing him deeply, a strong hand at the back of his head held him in the kiss briefly before Dave pulled away all together and turned, walking down the street without looking back. John tried to call out to him but no words would form now and the tears were taking over. Just as his vision completely blurred he felt Dirk grab him by the elbow and drag him back inside. John meant to put up a fight but he failed in that too and before he knew it Dirk was dumping him onto Dave’s bed,  
“You can stay here long as you like, I won’t kick you out. I’ll be downstairs if you need anything.” And with that he disappeared from the room. John lay clutching Dave’s pillow to his chest for a long while before he finally passed out from emotional exhaustion. The last thing he thought before he was lost to sleep was how different Dirk turned out to be from how he always believed he was. He was definitely quiet, but he wasn’t as heartless and cold as he had spent so many years believing. In fact, he was certain he had judged him completely wrong from the beginning.


	4. During His Absence

John didn’t go to Dave’s place for several weeks after he left. He had wanted to, to continue training with Dirk, but he always ended up finding an excuse not to. He wasn’t exactly sure why he was avoiding it. Maybe because everything there would remind him of Dave and that would hurt; or maybe it was something else. Like the weird feeling he got in his stomach when he thought about Dirk for too long. First he told himself that was stupid. Then he started to feel guilty about it. He figured as long as nothing ever came of it then there was no reason to feel bad about it and as long as nothing was coming of it then there was no harm in continuing his training.

The next day he went to the Strider house sometime in the afternoon after he had taken his sweet time walking there. He felt his ears burning as he reached up to knock on the door but right as his fist would have made contact, the door swung open and Dirk was there staring at him through shaded eyes.  
“Took you long enough,” he said flatly, seeming to know what John was going to do long before he did it as always. John shrugged,  
“Didn’t really feel like training I guess,” he finished the sentence by running a hand through his black curls.  
“Wrong.” Dirk moved aside as he said it and ushered a bewildered John in.  
“Best to take yer mind off things, trainin’s good for that.”  
John couldn’t really argue with him because it did make sense after all. 

They picked up where they had left off as far as teaching John how to fight and defend himself went but they also started training to control whatever power Dirk had seen the last time they had sparred. It was frustrating for John at first but then he started to feel it; the change in the air around him when he concentrated on it. Before long he was able to bend the air into little powerful tornadoes that launched forth from his fists when he threw a punch. Once he got the basics down he actually stood as a capable opponent against Dirk, much to his own surprise. He barely even noticed that days were turning into weeks and then a month. 

One day Dirk surprised him yet again after they had finished on the roof for the day,  
“Wanna check out my lab or whatever you ‘n Dave call it?”  
John couldn’t really contain his excitement at the prospect. He had been wondering what was in that room for as long as he knew it existed.  
“Sure I mean if you want to show me or whatever that’s cool…” John trailed off at the end as he realized he was going to do that nervous rambling thing he did sometimes. He didn’t actually see it but he could feel Dirk smirking at him.

The lab certainly wasn’t a let down, although it looked more like a mechanics shop than anything; there were pieces of robotics sitting along one wall as well as a full size metal replica of Dirk in one corner with creepy red eyes glowing behind identical pointy shades. On his work bench there was another pair of those bizarre shades only these ones seemed different than normal glasses. He would have examined them longer only there was so much to take in and he didn’t know when Dirk would kick him out. As it turned out, Dirk sat down on his stool and started tinkering with the shades John had been looking at a moment ago and seemingly left him to his own devices. After he had surveyed the rest of the room, the most notable contents included a robotic bunny, a robot pony with a big pink bow tied around its neck, and a big robotic arm attached to a table that seemed to follow his movements when he wasn’t looking. He found an abandoned stool near the door and set it by Dirk, then sat and watched what he was doing. Dirk didn’t seem to mind, or he didn’t notice, either way he continued working as John fed his curiosity behind him.

Dirk seemed to be having trouble figuring out whatever he was trying to do and after several what John assumed were attempts, he dropped the shades back onto the table and stood abruptly,  
“Wanna go have a drink or somethin?”  
John blinked up at him for a moment,  
“Sure.”

John flopped down on the couch in the living room while Dirk disappeared into the kitchen. He heard the clanking of glass on countertop and the slosh of liquid being poured into them. Moments later Dirk was back in the room shoving a glass in his face while sipping from another. John took it and cautiously sipped at the brown contents. He tried not to cringe but it was so terrible that he couldn’t really help himself. Dirk laughed as he sat in the worn out armchair next to the couch; clearly he had seen the face he made. John could feel his face getting hot which could only mean he was blushing; he was determined to take a drink of it as nonchalantly as Dirk had so he threw it back and took a big gulp. It burned all the way down to his stomach and made him feel warm and kind of fuzzy. Dirk was obviously trying not to laugh again as he matched John’s mouthful from his own glass.  
“So what is this stuff anyway, it’s awful,” John asked as he took another sip.  
“That there is whisky, boy.” Dirk did that half smile thing he sometimes did when he said it and John’s stomach did that weird flippy thing it sometimes did and he really wished it wouldn’t. Then Dirk added,  
“and you don’t usually drink it for the taste anyway, most people anyway.”

Before long they had both finished off a few drinks, talking about hero stuff mostly but John was more wondering about Dave. He had been gone awhile with no contact and he was starting to forget small things about him. It made him frown when he thought about it.  
“What’s wrong?”  
John looked up, a little surprised that Dirk had noticed.  
“N-nothing, I mean it’s not really important I guess,” he stammered out.  
Dirk made a ‘hm’ noise but continued staring at him as he lounged back in the arm chair.  
“I guess I just miss Dave is all,” he finally confessed after the pressure of Dirk’s gaze became too much.  
“Me too.”

Dirk stood up and set his glass on the table. He grabbed John by the wrist and pulled him up. John set his glass on the table on his way to stumbling upright and felt the blush returning to his cheeks. Dirk pulled him out of the room and down the hall, straight for his room. A million crazy things were going through John’s head but none of them either made sense or ended well. He stared at the back of Dirk’s head wondering what the hell he was thinking. Dirk pulled him straight into his room and and fell onto the bed, pulling John with him. He wrapped his arms around him and buried his face into John’s back,  
“Please stay, just for tonight… I won’t do nothin I just don’t want to be alone.”  
John was so shocked he couldn’t even find his voice to speak. He went through what had happened and what Dirk had just said in his head again but it still didn’t make sense. When he looked down at him, clutching onto him like he was, he didn’t want to leave him. He felt bad for him because he knew how he felt.  
“Yea, I’ll stay.”

Dirk lent him some clothes to sleep in and once John had timidly climbed back into bed, Dirk wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him over, essentially turning him into little spoon, then held him as tight as he had earlier, pressing his head into John’s back and curling his legs in close to John’s. He was glad the lights were off because he knew for sure he was blushing quite hard now. His heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest. He was so nervous but at the same time Dirk seemed so childlike now compared to how he usually acted; it was a completely different side to him that he hadn’t seen before, yet again. He soon began feeling significantly more of the fuzziness he was feeling before and it didn’t take long for sleep to kick in. Before he finally drifted off he thought to himself that it was just one night. Nothing would come of it because it was just one night.


	5. One Left, Two Return

When John woke up the next morning Dirk was already gone. When he ventured out of the room he found him cooking breakfast in the kitchen.  
“Hey. Hope yer hungry cause I cooked a lot. Also… sorry. For last night I mean.”  
John blinked slowly, still half asleep.  
“Erm no uh it’s ok,” he dropped off suddenly as if he were going to say more but he just stood staring at his feet instead. Dirk, who never seemed to mind silence, went on cooking while John awkwardly stood by the entrance to the kitchen. He grabbed the last slices of bacon out of the pan with some tongs and put them on a plate then turned all the burners off. He divided the food between two plates and handed one to John before wandering out into the living room. John followed and ate his breakfast in silence. He wasn’t really much of a morning person as it was and he was feeling kind of sick; probably his first hang over.

After they finished eating he changed back into his own clothes and headed for the door. Dirk caught him by the wrist as he passed and pulled him in, wrapping his arms around him and burying his face in his hair. Only for a moment then he let him go and was walking towards the basement stairs,  
“See ya,” he said over his shoulder before disappearing.  
John stood there bewildered for another couple of seconds before managing to make it out the front door. 

The walk home was awful but he was able to dump himself in bed once he got there and spent the rest of the day in and out of sleep. When he woke sometime in the late evening, he decided he probably shouldn’t go to Dave and Dirk’s place for a while. Now that he was out of the situation he was feeling pretty bad about it. If Dave ever found out it would really hurt him. He tried to shake the thoughts from his head but that only seemed to make them come back worse. He looked out the window above his desk that faced the front of his house. He pictured Dave walking up his front lawn glowing with some absurd power that he gained while he was away. The thought made him laugh a little at himself. He crawled into bed, having changed into some gym shorts and his favorite old shirt with slimmer on the front. He fell asleep thinking about Dave that night.

The next morning he woke up feeling like a normal human again. He stretched and rolled out of bed then sluggishly shuffled over to his desk and sat down. He pulled out his 3ds and started playing pokémon, his guilty pleasure. He was immersed in the game for several hours before he got bored with it and set it down on the desk. He rested his chin on his palm with his elbow propped up on the desk and stared out the window daydreaming. First he largely thought about Dave but then Dirk managed to enter into his thoughts. He sure did act strange sometimes.

Something in the yard reflected a beam of light from the sun into John’s room and he was brought back to reality. His eyes nearly fell out of his face when he realized it was Dave standing down on his lawn looking up at him, he held a broken sword in one hand. John leapt to his feet. He was slack-jaw with shock and took several seconds before he was running out of his room and down the stairs to the entryway. He threw the door open and ran straight up to Dave, stopping just short of knocking him over in his haste. He stood about a foot from the blonde, breathlessly staring at him in shock. Dave fell to his knees, dropped the sword then wrapped his arms around John’s middle, pressing his face into the black-haired boy’s chest. He didn’t say anything but John was pretty sure he was crying. He wrapped his arms around the back of his head and his neck, kissing the top of his head.

They stood like that for a while but as soon as Dave had quieted, John pulled him to his feet, allowing him to grab the sword first, and led him inside. He sat Dave down on his bed then sat next to him, not really sure what to ask first with all the questions buzzing around in his head.  
“So uh how was it?”  
“I’ve seen some crazy shit,” he replied, staring down at the floor. He didn’t seem like he intended on elaborating and John didn’t really know how to interpret that.  
“I’ve gotta get home and talk to Dirk about some stuff, I just had to see you,” he finally said after a minute or so of silence.  
“I’ll come with you!”  
“No sorry John but I need to talk to him alone, I’ll call you later though I promise,” he leaned in and kissed John on the cheek. John’s brow furrowed a bit, Dave was being really distant it seemed like. When the blonde stood up to leave John rose too and pulled him into a tight hug,  
“I’m glad you’re ok.”  
Dave hugged him back, pressing a kiss against John’s neck, then almost reluctantly it seemed, pulled away and walked downstairs, not even bothering to wait for John to walk him out. As it were, John just stood in the doorway to his bedroom feeling upset and confused. Dave was definitely acting strange and now he had a million unanswered questions to worry about too.

The sun set with John still waiting for Dave to call. He was distracted by a sound of a key being inserted into the front door. He leaned over the couch from the living room so he had a partial view of the front door. He almost fell backwards over the couch when Jake walked in, the last person he expected to see with how frequently his older brother was absent.  
“Jake! You’re home!”  
Jake turned to see John’s wide blue eyes staring at him and smiled,  
“Hello there chap, it’s been a while, eh?” Jake shut the front door behind him and walked into the living room to wrap John in a bear hug. He set his younger brother down and mussed his hair.

They sat talking of Jake’s adventures well into the night. John was fascinated with everything Jake had to say and sat transfixed, completely forgetting that Dave hadn’t called him. It was nearly 4am before Jake stood, stretched, and declared he was heading to bed. His old room which was next to John’s had stood untouched since he left home the first time, so that he would always have a place to come back to if he chose to. John was walking up the stairs to his own room when he absently pulled his phone from his pocket and checked it, turns out Dave had texted him hours ago. His heart raced at having missed it but when he opened the message all it said was ‘hey sorry I left so fast, im just gonna pass out now… I’ll text you tomorrow, night’. None of the usual sentiments he would attach to his texts to John before he had left. John frowned, something was definitely wrong but he had no clue what and Dave wasn’t giving him any chances to figure it out. John lay staring at the ceiling for hours, all manner of terrible things running through his head as to why Dave was being so distant. The most logical reason was just that he was worn out from his journey and not thinking clearly, but the thought barely even occurred to John with all the other nonsensical things he was pondering. He finally passed out from exhaustion as the sun was rising.

When he woke up the next day, Dave had not texted him. Nor did he for the remainder of the day. Jake left sometime around 3 in the afternoon and didn’t return home until John was already restlessly lying in bed. He thought about getting up and pestering Jake about where he had been but the effort seemed too troublesome so he stayed where he was, bordering between heartache and anger as he stared blankly at his bedroom wall. He had almost missed it in his own self-pity but as his brothers footsteps passed his door he faintly picked up that there was someone walking behind him, at any rate he heard his brothers bedroom door shut a few seconds later and then it was silent. He wondered who on earth his brother would be bringing home; he wasn’t aware that he still had any friends in town being gone so often and he didn’t seem the type to bring someone home from a bar or anything like that. For a fleeting second he wondered if maybe it was Dirk and the thought made his heart skip a beat, why he should be concerned as to whether or not it was certainly wasn’t something he wanted to think about so he rolled over and tried to conjure something else. Eventually he drifted off to sleep.

The next morning John was awoken suddenly by his brother’s bedroom door being shut a little too hard. He had had a restless night, waking several times for no apparent reason. He made a grumbling sound as he sat up, then lazily drug himself out of bed. He stretched and yawned, trying to blink the sleep from his eyes. As he passed by his window on the way to his dresser he happened to glance outside but what he saw stopped him dead in his tracks. He stared, mouth slightly open in pure shock, trying to take in what he was seeing and what it could possibly mean. Down in the street was the back of Dave, walking away from his house with his head down and hands shoved in his pockets. John felt like the bottom fell out of his stomach and his hole body was filling with acid. It was Dave who had come in with Jake last night. It was Dave who had shut his brother’s bedroom door too hard and woke him up on his way out. Tears were starting to form in the corners of John’s eyes. He had to get out. He threw on a pair of pants and struggled to pull a sweater over his head, for some reason he was having a hard time breathing and he practically fell down the stairs trying to get outside. When he got down to the street he bent over, supporting himself with his hands on his knees, gasping for breath. He looked up into the sky and let the sun blind him for a moment before taking off down the street in a sprint. He had way too much to process and for the moment, he needed to run.


	6. Revenge

God things had gotten royally fucked up, Dave thought to himself as he walked home. He didn’t even want to think about where he was coming from, his insides had practically rotted with the amount of guilt he had been feeling the last few weeks. Ever since he ran into Jake on his quest for the sword of time nothing had been right. The worst part is that even though he knew more than one person would be devastated if it came out, he still didn’t want to stop seeing Jake. He missed John so much but his guilt stopped him from contacting him every time he reached for his phone. John was too good for him, he deserved someone so much better than himself. Dave wanted to break it off with him so he could move on with his life but the thought made him sick. He wasn’t even really sure he wanted to be with Jake, there was just something about him that kept pulling the blonde back. This was sick. It was like his life had become some ironic joke no one knew the punch line to. 

Before he knew it his feet had found their way home. He took a deep breath and walked in then towards his room, ignoring his brother staring at the side of his head as he passed him in the living room. He shut his door and fired up his computer and turntables, putting a pair of oversized red and black DJ headphones over his ears. He messed around for hours, creating beats, deleting them, creating more, frowning when all of them reminded him of Jake. He wasted most of the day this way, only coming out of his room as the sun set to grab a snack from the kitchen then shut himself back in his room. That time he didn’t see Dirk in the living room, he was probably downstairs working on whatever it was he worked on down there. After he had eaten he threw himself down on his bed, staring at the ceiling with one hand clutched to his chest like that might stop his heart from hurting so much. It didn’t help, not even a little, but eventually he drifted off to sleep, his legs still hanging off the side of his bed.

Green glowing eyes stalked him from the shadows, following his every move without revealing their source. Dave drew his sword and held it towards his predator and squared his stance. He wasn’t afraid, just slightly irritated at the bother of it. The shadows began moving, they receded further back, slowly unveiling a form attached to those unusual green eyes. It didn’t strike him as strange that the shadows should be moving as opposed to whatever was hiding in them but those thoughts were forgotten as a face took shape around the glowing green orbs. A strong, square jaw, slightly spiked jet black hair, square framed glasses that sat on a nose that had the look of being broken in fights several times, yet still adding to his appeal. He reached out and grabbed the blade of Dave’s sword, as he closed his grip blood dripped down and formed strange beads in the sand beneath his feet.  
“Jake stop!” The blonde grabbed the other’s wrist, trying to get him to release the sword but it only made him grab it tighter, knuckles turning white from the pressure.  
“Jake please, what are you doing?” The black-haired young man just stared at him, a slight smile on his face, making him look a bit menacing and a little less than sane. Dave dropped the sword, which seemed to work because Jake let it go too and wrapped his blood covered hand around Dave’s neck, leaning in and running the tip of his nose across Dave’s jaw line, like he was taking in his scent or something. Dave grabbed his hand with both of his own as he felt himself struggling to breath. He wanted to tell Jake that he was killing him but he couldn’t speak with how tight his hand was wrapped around his neck. He felt himself losing consciousness as blackness closed in around him until all he could see were two green eyes staring at him mercilessly.

Dave sat straight up in bed, panting for breath.  
“What’s going on,” It was Dirk, standing in his doorway staring at Dave with his arms crossed.  
“Nothing, a nightmare” Dave said, still trying to catch his breath. Dirk was on him in seconds, grabbing him by the shoulders and bringing his face inches from Dave’s so that he could almost make out the orange color of his eyes from behind his shades.  
“Why were you saying Jake’s name. And you better tell me the goddamn truth.”  
Dave looked away, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, it was just a dream.” Dirk frowned, releasing his brother, “fine. But in case it wasn’t just a dream, stay away from Jake. He’s… not right. He’ll use you.” With that he turned and left the room, closing the door behind him. Dave stared after him, his brother’s words made him feel nauseous. It was stupid of him to have thought he could hide it from his brother. For all he knew Jake was using him for precisely the reason of Dirk finding out but he didn’t want to believe that was true.

The next day the fears his brother had put in his head the night before had half eaten away at his brain. He pulled out his phone and texted a number with no name assigned to it, ‘let’s meet up.’ read the text he sent. A few minutes later his phone buzzed a reply into his hands, ‘walk to the park by your house, I’ll pick you up.’ He wasted no time throwing on some pants and his old shirt with the record on it. He hollered down the stairs to Dirk that he was heading out for the day and left before he could do anything like protest. When he got to the park he sat on one of the old shitty wooden tables that everyone and their brother had carved initials and various other stupid things into. His shaded eyes watched the street in anticipation. What felt like an eternity, but in reality was only about 10 minutes, ended with the sound of breaks grinding on rubber and metal, an engine dying, and Jake emerging from the car and heading straight for the blonde. He stood in front of Dave, who was still sitting on the table,  
“How may I be of service strider,” he smiled and set his hands on the table on either side of Dave, then leaned in and kissed him. Dave grabbed a handful of his shirt and held him there as he kissed him back. When Jake pulled away, Dave released him. He was about to just flat out ask him everything he wanted to but Jake grabbed his wrist and pulled him towards his car,  
“Come on then I have something to show you.”

Dave sat in silence as Jake drove him to wherever they were going. He glanced over at him, wondering how he pulled him in like he did, how he got him to cheat on John without much of a second thought. A five o’clock shadow added to his roguish look, for starters. His hair was a calculated mess, turned up a bit at his forehead. His jaw was the ideal for masculinity and intensified his badassery. His shoulders had become broad and strong over the years and his muscles were perfectly defined. John looked like a child compared to his brother. As his eyes made their way back up to his face, he realized Jake was glancing at him through peripherals, but his apple green eyes flashed back to the road after a fleeting second. Then he was pulling into a parking spot on a random street downtown. Dave was puzzled as he got out of the car, he had no idea what could be around here that Jake would be taking him to but Jake didn’t seem to be heading anywhere, he just stood on the sidewalk and held his arms out, apparently motioning to the building behind him,  
“Well, here it is!”  
“Here what is?” It was a nondescript building; it didn’t look like the source of any sort of entertainment.  
“I got a place here, I’m staying in town for awhile.” There was a smile playing at the side of his lips and Dave couldn’t tell why but it seemed a bit dark.  
“…why?” Dave hadn’t meant for it to sound so bleak. Jake let his arms fall back to his side and walked over to Dave, grabbing the sides of his face and looking into his eyes behind his shades,  
“Why do you think?” He let go of the blonde and grabbed him by the wrist again, leading him inside. They rode the elevator up a few floors then walked down a quiet hallway that smelled like burnt popcorn and cigarettes. Jake stopped in front of apartment 413 and unlocked the door, pushing it open and pulling Dave inside. It was empty aside from a brown paper bag on the kitchen counter and a closed box by the patio door. Apparently a tour was not on the schedule because as soon as Jake had the door closed he pushed Dave against the wall, pressing against him and kissing him deeply. Dave was completely powerless against him. Not just physically, but mentally as well. He didn’t even remember that he had wanted to talk to him about some fairly serious stuff, all he could think about was how good of a kisser he was, and how much he wanted to pull his clothes off. Turns out he didn’t have to spend too long wanting to do so as Jake pulled his own shirt over his head then pulled Dave’s off as well before grabbing his shoulders and throwing him to the ground. Dave fell onto the flat of his back, he was used to the fact that Jake got a little rough sometimes, it was actually one of the things that kept bringing him back. His pleasure was also his punishment. Jake fell to his knees, straddling the blonde then slowly ran a hand up his chest to his neck, weathered fingers slowly tightening their grip as his thumb forced Dave’s chin upwards at which point Jake kissed him again, moving his tongue into the blonde’s waiting mouth. When he broke off the kiss, Dave let out a gasp from his breathing beginning to become a struggle. It only seemed to turn Jake on more and his free hand slipped below the hemline of Dave’s pants. He moaned quietly as Jake’s hand closed around his dick and began moving in a twisting motion up and down the shaft. Jake leaned forward and bit Dave’s bottom lip then kissed him again as he worked. It wasn’t long before he had Dave panting and writhing beneath him, trying to move his hips upwards but he was trapped beneath the weight of the black-haired rogue. Dave involuntarily arched his back and his breath caught in his tightened throat. He had his hands gripping into Jake’s thighs and his nails ground into his skin beneath his pants as he came. That menacing smile returned as he pulled his hand out of Dave’s pants.

Dave sat up, his head was swimming from the previous lack of oxygen but he managed to push Jake backwards, against the wall. Jake stood up as Dave unbuttoned his pants and pulled them and his boxers down to his ankles. He took Jake’s hard dick into his mouth and began sucking on it as he moved back and forth, one hand pumping up and down his shaft in speed with his mouth. Jake grabbed a fistful of Dave’s hair at the back of his head as he moved. He pulled the blonde’s shade’s off his face with his other hand and stared down at those blood red eyes.  
“Look at me,” he said in a low voice and Dave complied though there was a bit of a look of defiance as he worked his tongue over Jake’s dick. He dropped the shades and moved his hand to Dave’s face, his palm resting on his cheek. He ran his thumb lightly over Dave’s cheekbone before leaning back against the wall and closing his eyes. He breathily said, “you look.. so much… like.. ahh.. your brother..” before holding Dave’s head still, mostly by the fistful of blonde hair, then bucking his hips forward as he came into the back of Dave’s throat. When he let the blonde go he fell to his knees in front of him and grabbed either side of his face, kissing him deeply, his tongue forcefully entangling with Dave’s. Then he rose and walked to the bathroom, leaving Dave sitting on his knees breathing heavily and finally grabbing around for his shade’s which he replaced in their rightful place on his face.  
“Jake..”  
He appeared from the bathroom, recomposed.  
“Hm?”  
“a-… are you just using me?” He looked down at the ground when he asked his, Dirk’s words echoing in his head. Jake walked over to Dave and pulled him to his feet by his elbow. He grabbed the back of Dave’s neck and brought his face close to the blonde’s, “why Dave…” he cooed at him before kissing down the younger boys neck then bringing his face back up to stare into his eyes, “of course I am.” He smirked, and then added, “but you like it, don’t you?” Dave just stared at him in silence, not really knowing what to say. He thought back to when he had first run into Jake on his journey and everything that had happened between them since then. Jake had initiated everything, he all but forced himself on Dave but the blonde had become enamored and didn’t take much convincing. He still felt terrible about the whole situation but he thought Jake cared about him, if he didn’t then why do all this? He shook his head, trying to comprehend before looking back into those glowing green eyes,  
“Why?”  
Jake smiled, his face darkening and his eyes piercing green menace straight into Dave’s soul. Then, between clenched teeth, he replied,  
“Revenge.”


End file.
